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The Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed an AI-based (artificial intelligence) app and website for the identification of pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies in cashew plants.
‘Cashew Protect’ app, launched recently for mobile phones with Android and iOS operating systems, can currently detect six pests and one disease; it will eventually be developed to identify around 60 pests that attack cashew plants, besides 20 diseases, and 10 nutrient deficiencies, from uploaded images.
Cashew Protect app
The Principal Scientist at DCR in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, Mohana GS, who conceptualised and designed the app, told businessline that farmers approach scientists on WhatsApp, seeking remedies to tackle pests and diseases affecting cashew. To address the farmers’ requirement, DCR decided to launchan AI-based app.
Though there are apps for identification of pests and diseases, there was no AI-based app for cashew.
How to get info
On the use of the app, Mohana said the farmer can upload photos of the affected part -- whether it is the leaf, fruit, an entire tree, or the stem – on the app/ website.
Also read: Cashew sector foresees a tough 2023 on drop in exports, demand
AI technology would identify the pest or disease instantly and provide remedial measures. “So you will come to know about the management of the whole problem,” he said.
Cashew Protect app
For example: If a farmer uploads a tea-mosquito bug (TMB) affected cashew leaf, AI technology would give the similarity percentage of the image with that of the affected plant.
“Let us say similarity is 80, or 90 , or 95 per cent. Based on the similarity, you will come to know whether identification is correct or wrong. If it is more than 90 per cent, we can be sure that it is correctly identified and it will also show the image of the TMB-affected plant that is already stored in the system,” he said.
About cases where the disease/ pest has been wrongly identified, he said the AI system identifies pests and diseases based on the image that the farmer uploads. It would provide an answer based on its previous experience.
If the farmer is not satisfied with the results, he/ she can share it with experts on the website/ app.
Data analytics
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Large-scale use of the app globally will help identify the location of the problem using data analysis, Mohana said.
It is important that a large number of farmers used the app since large data sets help AI technology provide solutions in a better manner.
Benefits to farmer
The farmer, in whichever part of the world he is, can use this technology to find solutions to manage disease/ pest attacks in time.
Stating that timely management is crucial for management of pests such as TMB, he said if it is identified in time, the whole tree can be saved.
“If we can identify the problem at the right stage, we can take management measures and definitely it will improve productivity in case of pests and diseases, and also nutrient deficiency,” he said.
Languages
The website/ app is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Odia and Garo languages.
Scientists from DCR and AICRP (All India Coordinated Research Project) - Cashew, from across the country were part of the project, which has been funded by the RKVY-RAFTAAR (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana - Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation) programme of the Karnataka government.
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